Toby, my german shep/newfoundland suddenly decided his food bowl was the most terrifying thing on earth this morning. It tipped over after he had finished eating and gave him such a fright that he ran all the way across the room and sat there growling and barking at it.I called him over to me to create a distraction and did a little bit of clicker training with treats. That worked for a little while until he began to sneak up on the bowl again, growling and barking. I took him out for a walk and a visit to a friend and he was too tired to bother with the bowl when we came home. When I fed him this afternoon though, he kept sneaking up to the bowl and snatching bits of food then running away to his bed. This is a guy who wolfs down his food no bother any other day!He almost climbs into the thing! His bowl has tipped over before and he has never even batted an eyelid. I'm worried that I've made him scared since I had been really frustrated with him this morning and he seemed to pick up on that. I don't want to cause him any fear. I'm a first time owner so this is all very new to me :D I am just hoping I didn't cause this as he seems nervous today a lot and I was pretty frustrated with him early this morning after an hour out in the cold only for him to come in and poop indoors.(my fault, not his) That's also not like him as he normally whines to go outside for number 2. I admit I raised my voice as I hurried him out the door and he tried to run away from me when he got into the garden. It wasn't play running, he genuinely looked afraid of me. He's usually full of confidence and pluck and I am terrified that I made myself unpredictable to him. I understand that he would view my anger as unfounded and I should have kept calm as it was just an accident :(
He has been biting extra hard today too but his energy levels are the same as usual so it doesn't seem like pent up frustration.In fact he's flat out asleep right now.Sorry if this is long winded, I just don't want to ruin my beautiful dog, since he's probably going to be a giant :wild: Got paws like a lion!